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BokNal, South Korea annualy slaughters 5 million dogs

07/03/2016 - 17:22

Yulin is by far the better known, but South Korea has its own dog festival: BokNal. To be precise Sambok / Boknal, and it is back to "three-day dog-eat feast." It is celebrated on the three hottest days of summer, where "hot meals and cool drinks" are in the center of public attention. Unlike Yulin is Sambok / Boknal indeed rooted in a long tradition. Bok Nal is literally "dog day" and these three days, not necessarily in a row, are for Koreans a reason to eat "Dog Stew" Boshintang, mongmongtang or yeong yang tang, although by now people are more and more replacing the dog meat with samyetang , ginseng chicken, so chicken. Yet Tourism Site "TheSoulofSeoul" still advertises dog stew with the words "if you are not ready for this dish ... " but does indicate that the younger generation is going for chicken or eel, and the dog is mostly eaten by the elderly. Seoul still knows more than 500 "dog meat restaurants"

There are some differences with Yulin. China is still a communist dictatorial country only interesting for its trading interests, Korea (south) is a more or less democratic country which is closely linked with the West. Large companies like Samsung, Kia etc. are Korean. Less enjoyable, Korea has unlike China indeed commercial dogfarms where dogs are bred for consumption or as fighting dogs. The laws surrounding this type of farming are vague, they are mostly semi-legal, but the government still refuses to address this, precisely because eating dogs in Korea is seen as tradition. In the relatively small country annually around five million dogs are bred for consumption. Because they are -comparable with mega stables for cattle in Europe, injected with high doses of antibiotics and other hormones the meat is actually an indirect threat to public health.

From the time the dogs are born in the farms they get the bare minimum to survive, and they are subjected to unimaginable torture, dogs are locked up in cramped, dirty cages without any protection against extreme weather conditions. They have no water, exercise, companionship or medical care, and they never make them feel the ground beneath their feet. Their eardrums are pierced in order to prevent them from barking. In broad daylight, often in front of other living dogs, they are electrocuted, hanged, beaten, cut their throats or they are cooked or burned alive.

Because Seoul will not organize a World Dog Show at short notice, the protests against BokNal are less vigorously and more unknown. South Korea, however,is also an FCI member, as expressed by the Korea Kennel Federation in Seoul. On their nothing can be found about this festival or any response to current protesters. The FCI, who has designed posters to Yulin, has also no direct action focused on South Korea.

Various pressure groups are either directly in Korea in action to close slaughterhouses, including Marc Chang, or execute political action through petitions. See, inter alia koreandogs